"Wilding" is a short story by Jane Yolen. She says it was inspired by kids wandering around Central Park.
In the future, kids can shapeshift in the park to get back in touch with nature. Zena can't wait to go, and prove how cool she is.
Tropes for this short story include:
- All Girls Want Bad Boys: Zena likes Nick because he is "dangerous" and cool in her eyes.
- Cassandra Truth: Zena says that the "deaths" in the park are "bogus" and "propaganda" when her mother expresses concern. She finds out when encountering a dead body and the man responsible for the murder that her mother was right.
- Chekhov's Gun: Zena's collar. She doesn't wear it but has it in her pocket. That plus her strong will makes her change back to a human to fight off the man trying to attack her. Carl, the Max who helps save her, said that keeping her collar on hand allowed them to track her down fast.
- Death of a Child: An adult had sneaked into a kids-designated area, and was murdering them For the Evulz. What's worse, he targeted kids that had turned off their tracking devices so he could kill them and evade detection. Zena survived by sheer force of will to change back.
- Five-Second Foreshadowing: Zena in monkey-form crosses a stream that tastes of urine. She notes that it's weird. Then she sees a dead body lying at the base of a tree.
- Too Dumb to Live: Lampshaded by Carl the Max who debriefs Zena at the hospital. He says that the collars help you transform back in case of an emergency. Every child who was killed had taken off their collar, making them easy prey because they had an animalistic mind. Zena herself gets a Jerkass Realization at how she nearly got killed in an attempt to look cool.
- Voluntary Shapeshifting: Well, a machine in Central Park does it, but it's emphasized that the shapeshifting requires city credits, that the parents often supply. They have to go through several lasers for the change to become complete.
